Now the transfer window for English clubs has closed, we take stock of the deals that were supposed to happen but didn't.
1. Diego Godin to Manchester United
Manchester United’s frantic search for a new centre-back even extended to La Liga where Jose Mourinho’s side made an audacious move for Atletico Madrid icon Diego Godin.
Regarded as one of the best centre-backs in the world, it was always a long shot for United to convince Godin to drop life in Madrid for a shock move to Old Trafford in a matter of hours.
Unsurprisingly, United did not turn Godin’s head. Instead, it turned out to be a powerplay from Godin and his representatives, who used Mourinho’s interest to get a bumper new deal from Atletico.
Within hours of taking United’s offer to Atletico, Godin had agreed an improved contract with the Europa League champions.
Only one player has made more headed clearances than Godin (244) in La Liga since August 2015 and he would have been a class signing for United, even at the age of 32.
2. Jack Grealish to Tottenham
Tottenham are the first Premier League club since the introduction of the summer transfer window in 2003 not to make a single transfer and their hopes of avoiding that ended quite early on deadline day.
Mauricio Pochettino’s side were the frontrunners for Jack Grealish for most of the summer but Aston Villa but a stop to their pursuit after the Premier League outfit refused to match their valuation.
Tottenham lodged a £25m bid for the England Under-21 international but it wasn’t deemed good enough by Steve Bruce’s side, who will now fancy their chances of a promotion push with Grealish still at the club.
The north London outfit had hoped to exploit Villa’s financial difficulties at the start of the summer and drive their asking price for Grealish down, but new investors ruined those plans and effectively killed their chances.
Of players that made more than 15 starts in the Championship last season, Grealish ranked among the top-10 WhoScored rated players (excluding substitute appearances).
3. Franck Kessie to Wolves
Wolves broke their club-transfer record to land Adama Traore from Middlesbrough in an £18m deal earlier in the week but the newly-promoted Premier League side were willing to pay three times that much to prise Franck Kessie away from AC Milan.
Nuno’s side signed Leander Dendoncker from Anderlecht on deadline day but were hoping to finish the transfer window with one more major signing, penciling in space for Kessie. Wolves even submitted a stunning €60m bid for the 21-year-old, but it was declined by Milan.
Kessie is highly thought of around the continent and was heavily linked with moves to Manchester United and Chelsea before leaving Atalanta to join Milan 12 months ago. Milan unsurprisingly have no interest in losing the powerful midfielder and are now planning a bumper new deal for him.
The Ivory Coast international has already played a direct hand in 17 goals in 57 Serie A appearances in his young career, which suggests he has a big future ahead of him.
4. Ousmane Dembele to Arsenal
Ousmane Dembele has been loosely linked with a move to Arsenal all summer, mainly due to the fact they already have a strong Borussia Dortmund contingent at the club. The Gunners appointed former Dortmund chief Sven Mislintat as head of recruitment in November and have since proceeded to sign three players with connections to the Bundesliga club in the last eight months, two of which directly from BVB.
With Dembele heavily linked with a move away from Barcelona after 12 fairly underwhelming months at the club, Arsenal appear the perfect location for the 2018 World Cup winner. Malcom’s shock arrival at Barcelona has only clouded Dembele’s future at Camp Nou into further doubt.
Reports emerged on deadline day claiming Arsenal were pushing ahead with a club-record €100m deal but nothing materialised. While Unai Emery’s side admire the 21-year-old, they were already content with their summer business and had no real intentions of making a play for the winger.
Despite being limited 12 starts and five substitute appearances during his first season at Barcelona, Dembele still played a direct hand in nine goals. In fact, of players that started at least five La Liga matches last season, Dembele required the fewest minutes per assist (1 every 155 minutes of action).
5. Goncalo Guedes to Watford
After selling Richarlison to Everton for an initial £40m fee earlier in the summer, Watford were reportedly willing to break the bank for Paris Saint-Germain outcast Goncalo Guedes.
The Portugal international spent last season on loan at Valencia and was a revelation for Los Che, who are determined to re-sign Guedes for the upcoming campaign.
Watford’s interest threatened to throw a spanner in the works and the Hornets were reportedly even willing to match PSG’s €60m valuation.
The Ligue 1 champions are looking to offload the 21-year-old to balance their books but Guedes only has eyes on joining Valencia, meaning Watford’s interest proved short-lived.
Guedes played a direct hand in 14 league goals for Valencia last term. In fact, only four players provided more assists than Guedes in La Liga last season (9).
6. Toby Alderweireld to Manchester United
Diego Godin wasn’t the only centre-back Manchester United failed to sign on deadline day. United’s top target all summer has been Toby Alderweireld but they failed to drive Tottenham’s asking price down before running out of time altogether.
United tried to broker a £55m deal in May only to be told Tottenham’s valuation of the 29-year-old was £75m. Startled by Tottenham’s demands, United cooled their interest in the knowledge he will be free to leave for £25m next summer if he doesn't sign a new dea before then.
There were suggestions United would successfully prise the Belgium international away from Tottenham on deadline day, but nothing came to pass and now Alderweireld must try and get back into Mauricio Pochettino’s good books.
Alderweireld was limited to just 14 league appearances last season after dropping down the pecking order under Pochettino. No outfielder averaged more accurate long balls than Alderweireld in the Premier League last term (7.9).
7. Eric Maxim Choupo-Moting to Huddersfield
After being relegated to the Championship last season, naturally there were fears of a mass exodus at Stoke. The Potters, however, have done well to keep the bulk of their best players, with the exception of Xherdan Shaqiri. Gary Rowett’s side even convinced Joe Allen to sign a new deal, while there were no takers for the likes of Jack Butland and Badou Ndiaye.
Huddersfield had already managed to prise Ramadan Sobhi away from the Bet365 Stadium, but proved unsuccessful in their attempts to sign Eric Maxim Choupo-Moting. The former Schalke forward only joined Stoke on a free transfer 12 months ago but reportedly turned down a move to the Terriers in the hope of securing a transfer to a bigger club.
The 29-year-old, who played a direct hand in 10 goals in his debut campaign in the Premier League (five goals, five assists), may live to regret that after everything went quite on deadline day. Choupo-Moting will now have to knuckle down and help Stoke secure an instant return to the England’s top-tier.
8. Domagoj Vida to Arsenal
After some inspired displays during the 2018 World Cup, Domagoj Vida quickly emerged as a transfer target for the likes of Liverpool and Arsenal. Jurgen Klopp’s side were never really serious on the 29-year-old, instead placing their faith in emerging talent Joe Gomez, but Arsenal were reportedly considering a deadline day move for the Besiktas centre-back.
Arsenal had already signed Sokratis from Borussia Dortmund earlier in the summer, but with Laurent Koscielny out for the rest of the year, Unai Emery could be short at the back, particularly as Shkodran Mutasfi’s future at the club is uncertain once again.
Besiktas signed Vida on a free transfer in January but the Croatia international struggled to make any impact at the club, limited to just seven starts. Nevertheless, the Turkish giants looked set to cash in on the experienced defender, with fees in the region of £26m being associated to Arsenal’s interest.
However, Besiktas are unlikely to be able to command anything near that figure now the transfer window for English clubs has shut.
9. Oleksandr Zinchenko to Wolves
Wolves’ summer was pretty much flawless from start to finish. They bolstered their squad with impressive acquisitions right the way through pre-season and now look primed for a good first campaign back in the Premier League since 2012.
However, Nuno’s side were unable to convince Oleksandr Zinchenko to give up life at Manchester City for the Molineux. Wolves twice had bids of £16m accepted by the Premier League champions and even tried to get a deal over the line on deadline day, but the 21-year-old is determined to fight for his place at City.
Zinchenko only started six Premier League matches last season and was forced to adapt at left-back, despite naturally being a forward. The Ukraine international is unlikely to ever make it as a winger for Guardiola, while the return to fitness of Benjamin Mendy will also restrict first-team opportunities at left-back.
10. Danny Rose to Schalke
As mentioned earlier, Tottenham failed to conduct a single piece of business over the summer. The north London outfit didn’t even manage to sell some of their unwanted players. Mauricio Pochettino’s side were open to offers for the likes of Toby Alderweireld and Danny Rose, but nothing that was presented to them was deemed good enough.
Manchester United were the only side likely to sign either players, but their interest in Rose has cooled over the last 12 months. Tottenham still value the England international at £50m despite the fact the 28-year-old has looked a shadow of his former self since returning from a serious knee injury.
Rose even lost his place at left wing-back to Ashley Young for the 2018 World Cup and looked vulnerable when he was given game time by Gareth Southgate. After it was clear no Premier League side would move for Rose, German side Schalke emerged as shock suitors.
Schalke, who are in the Champions League next season, were reportedly interested in taking Rose on loan but nothing came of talks. While their transfer window is still open, Tottenham are unable to sign players and Rose’s departure would leave them short.
